Sue Bradford Edwards's Blog, page 213
August 8, 2017
Picture Book Writing: How Many Picture Books Have You Read
How many picture books have you read? One piece of advice that I’ve heard time and time again is that if you are going to write picture books, you shouldn’t finalize even one manuscript until you have read 100 published picture books. And these have to be recent picture books. Recent? That’s books that […]
August 7, 2017
What to Work on Next…
Most days what I work on is a fairly easy decision. Deadlines must be met. And I have plenty of things to get done this week. There’s that pesky requested rewrite with a deadline for tomorrow and the publisher has a new manuscript for me as well. I’m critiqing a manuscript for someone and really […]
August 6, 2017
Your Work Space
Where do you work? I’m a full time writer so I have a dedicated work space. I have writer friends who have laptops and just flit around wherever. They work in coffee shops. They work in the park or a public garden. They work in the library. They get together and work. Really? I don’t […]
August 3, 2017
SCBWI 2017 Reading List
Are you a PAL (Published and Listed) Member of SCBWI (the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators)? If the answer is yes, SCBWI has a promotional opportunity for you might want to take advantage of. The Society isputting together a 2017 SCBWI Reading List to promote our PAL authors and illustrators. As with previous […]
August 2, 2017
StoryWalks®
Have any of you ever been fortunate enough to encounter a StoryWalk®? I only learned that they existed earlier this week when someone asked about them on a community forum. StoryWalk® is an innovative way for readers of all ages to enjoy reading in the outdoors. Laminated picture book pages are attached to wooden stakes […]
August 1, 2017
Disconnecting
Starting today, I am re-instituting an old policy. I am going offline to work. Because so much of my writing involves research, I generally have a search engine open. This means that Facebook is also open. My computer lets me know when someone contact me via Facebook. It let’s me know when I have an […]
July 31, 2017
Naming Your Characters
Several months ago, I started working on a picture book set in the Himalayas. I’m currently on my third major rewrite and my main character has already had two names. I think the one she has now will stick. I just checked the post-it notes where I wrote my first draft. Yep, post it notes. […]
July 30, 2017
Compelling Nonfiction: 4 Rules for Writing Important Stories
I’ll be the first to admit it. Sometimes, by the time I’ve finished writing one of my more difficult books, I have troubles remember why. Why in the heck did I think it was a good idea to write about Black Lives Matter? I definitely had the same doubts by the time I finished What Are […]
July 27, 2017
Distance: The Key to a Successful Rewrite
Put it away for a month. Whether you are writing novels, picture books, or poems, you’ve probably been given this advice. Put your work away. Gain some distance. Then it will be much easier to see what needs to be fixed. And it’s good advice when you have the time and space to take it. […]
July 26, 2017
New Imprints
New imprints mean new publishing opportunities so I was thrilled to see these two new imprints written up in Publisher’s Weekly. JY is a new graphic novel imprint that will focus on middle grade readers. The imprint is named after JuYoun Lee, the deputy publisher of Yen Press,. JY will launch this fall and will […]
